Two
large vats or cauldrons that originally contained a mixed fermented
beverage of wine, beer, and mead, mounted on iron tripod stands.

The king's
coffin, which had probably been used in a public viewing ceremony before
being carried into the tomb, was accompanied by 14 wood furniture pieces,
often intricately inlaid. These are best interpreted as serving and dining
tables for a funerary banquet eaten by the mourners before the interment.
The funerary banquet had been re-created
inside the tomb by the ancient caretakers who laid out more than 150 metal
vessels, described as the
most comprehensive Iron Age drinking set
ever found.

...surprisingly,
in view of Midas's legendary golden
touch, these vessels
were made of bronze, not gold...

Perhaps surprisingly,
in view of Midas's legendary golden
touch, these vessels
were made of bronze, not gold. Yet once accumulated layers of greenish
oxidation were removed, the bronze gleamed like the precious metal. Three
large vats (or cauldrons), with a capacity of about 150 liters each and
mounted on iron tripod stands, very likely held the beverage that was
served at the feast.

Banqueting protocol
at a royal celebration of the time is graphically depicted on wall reliefs
in the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon II at Khorsabad.A lion-headed
situla or bucket from the Midas Tomb is nearly an exact duplicate to the
ones shown on the Sargon relief. This situla, another ram-headed situla,
2 jugs with long, sieved spouts, and 19 juglets would have enabled the beverage
to be transferred to 5-liter round-bottomed buckets which were inset into
unique serving tables. From there, it was ladled into 100 finely wrought
bronze omphalos drinking bowls and, for those with greater thirsts, 19 large
two-handled bowls.